Title: LOSING THE TAG OF A RIOT HIT COLONY (Case study of Palda village,,UP)

Category/ Broad Area: Planning and Architectural Interventions

Aim The project is an attempt to amend the relationship of the riot hit community with the rest of the world and remedying their situation through various social interventions and providing infrastructure to generate self employment and fulfilling requirements of self employment recreation,education and healthcare.

Objectives  Building a belief that the world is a safe place,developing a sense of security and safety in the traumatised ones and at the same time maintaining public concern and interest.  To develop it as a secure and stable neighbourhood community where all the basic needs are fulfilled .  Promote community participation and encourage local entrepreneurship to restore economic productivity by creating a new morphology for self employment practices in such communities.  To make a conscious effort in evolving social networking to ease their exposure ensuring that it is linked and interacts with the major nearby towns and suburbs.

Scope  Providing architectural solutions so that the needs of these internally displaced persons are met in terms of safety,community/belonging,esteem and self actualisation. ---rehabilitation housing for the victims ---nursing homes,dispensary ---secondary level education ---public spaces for local interaction  Creating ownership among the community,Long term focus and developing relationships. Generating income through home based enterprises which has a multiplier effect on the society. ---local set up of cottage industries

---skill development centre,vocational training centre

Limitations  No concrete source available to collect data on pre riot conditions.

 Media manipulation create an image that results in ambiguity and thus it fails to ensure a piece which meticulously present both sides of the story.  Due to certain circumstances visiting nearby riot hit villages is not possible ,hence it limits our reach.  Site available might not accomodate all the requirements therefore land acquisition proposal has to be given.

PREREQUISITE

 Develop an understanding of the nuances of the rural life.  Study the demographic transition in a riot hit area.  Study the role of NGO’s and other state agencies in a riot hit village.  Understanding the present social condition of the refugee colony using the cultural and economic factors as a measure.

INITIAL APPROACH

STEPWISE PROCEDURE

DETAILED PROCEDURE

Need for Study

Traditionally, rural settlements represent the best synthesis of people’s ability to modify the environment to their own advantage . Moreover on the lines of an alleged developing nation is rapidly rising on the ashes of its backwoods. Nearly five lakh villages exist in India. While only about 28 per cent of the population lives in the cities, 72 per cent of the population lives in the villages. The villages thus occupy a place of great importance in the country.

Issue Selection

A grave humanitarian crisis has unfolded, and victims are lodged at the refugee colony are facing official neglect and terrible living conditions .All living beings on earth are entitled to live a secure life with familiar surrounding around them. But they were left with nothing of this when the misfortune struck. They are not able to satisfy lower level basic needs only before they progress on to meet higher level growth needs. Their society has to be empowered in order to overcome their hardships and the economic stagnancy. It is essential for these people to get rid of the stigma of the past. The plight of the survivors stranded between the apathy and ostracism of the society however speak a very different story.The present is of suffering, longing and depravity and hopes for a better future is non-existent. Making the situation worse is the silent suffering and the life of anonymity they are forced to lead in absence of any media coverage and efforts of outreach.The common public needs to be informed and sensitized to their existence and calls for help. The question here arises, as to how the society could be empowered in order to overcome their hardships and the economic stagnancy.The impending thaw, and the need of coming to terms with the harsh reality of reconstructing the very fabric of the community from scratch, puts us in a position to take notice, assess and ascertain the ways and methods to take in order to make it possible.To kick off this promising relationship with the community that we all are a part of, we need to work together to bring an end to the misery.

Issue Introduction

“Humanity is dying.

All that is human is disappearing,

And all that is inhuman is becoming more and more dominating and powerful.” -Osho, The Book of Wisdom, Ch 24 They say Communal wellbeing is central to human life but communal violence has become a major killer in India. The number of people being killed and maimed by other human beings at certain times and places exceeds those killed by diseases. In disgust people resort to violent means and become highly destructive .People do not understand a simple fact that if a human disagrees with you, let him live. In a hundred billion galaxies, you will not find another.

A socio-biologist has described the periodic violence in cities as part of the ‘urban pathology’. Cramped living quarters, daily brush with overcrowding and skyscrapers co-existing with slums; are some of the characteristics of this urban phenomenon.In comparison rural areas are, by and large, self governed entities and there is hardly any worthwhile police presence at the village level. Peace is maintained as a ‘social compact’. There are many causes that have changed the rural social landscape and social compact; ranging from rapid communication to birth of new category -- ‘Ruburnisation’ (sort urbanised rural area).But in case of India, electoral politics dividing society in majority/minority, going on since the early 1990s, is a major contributing factor to this heightened tension between communities. What seems to be happening in 2013 is that the fruits of this poisonous tree seem to have matured in form of estrangement between communities.1

There have been periodic instances of communal violence in India since 1947. There is a significant change in the pattern of communal riots since the 1990 and a shift has occurred in the nature of communal riots in India. Religion in most of the cases is not the reason why communal riots occur. The reason for the occurrence of communal violence has been different in the two different phases. During the time of partition, it was the clash of political interests of the elite of two different communities which resulted in communal riots. But, from the 1960s till the late 1980s, the local political and economic factors played a very important role in instigating riots. The emergence of politics("poly" meaning "many", and "tics" meaning "blood-sucking parasites") in the last two decades has been a cause of communal riots in this phase where the local factors have also helped in instigating riots. “The lawlessness [of communalism] is a monster with many faces. It hurts all in the end, including those who are primarily responsible for it” -Mahatma Gandhi The Communal violence is one of the major threats to Indian democracy. It has been a barrier to the socio- economic development of India. Serious disturbance in communal harmony cause widespread destruction that even after unprecedented levels of funding later on it never quite come to full fruition. To some extent one can cope up with a natural disaster but recovering from the aftermath of a communal carnage where one's survival and sense of security is constantly threatened is perhaps improbable. The communal issue has deep roots in the Indian past. Few examples that caused devastation and destruction of property and life are- Hindu Muslim riot in Madhya Pradesh in 1961 Ahmedabad riots of 1969 1984 riots, following the assassination of Indira Gandhi Meerut riots of 1987 Bhagalpur riots in 1989

1 http://www.rediff.com/news/column/the-danger-signal-from-the-muzafarnagar-riots

Mumbai riots in 1992 following by demolition of Bari Masjid Gujrat riots in 2002 Latest one are Muzaffarnagar riots in September 2013 that has prompted several villages to fight this situation of a civil unrest where provision for the restorative relief, rehabilitation and compensation to all persons affected by communal violence was very difficult. It is absolutely clear that even the best efforts of the army cannot prevent killings once rural areas get affected by the communal virus.

2013 MUZAFFARNAGAR RIOTS

fig1: Mohammed Kadir, who lost his son and daughter-in-law in

the riots, has now taken refuge in palda village with his

grandsons

Fig2: A boy looks at a burnt house in Lisad village in

Muzaffarnagar district (UP)

The clashes between the Hindu and Muslim communities in , , India in August–September 2013, resulted in at least 62 deaths including 42 Muslims and 20 Hindus and injured 93 and left more than 50,000 displaced. By 17 September, the curfew was lifted from all riot affected areas and the army was also withdrawn.

“I worry about my kids being molested, my house being burglarized, my oldest boy being shot” These were the voices of mothers living in dangerous neighbourhoods of Qutba .The riot has been described as "the worst violence in Uttar Pradesh in recent history", with the army, as a result, being deployed in the state for the first time in last 20 years. It is for the first time after the september 1969 gujarat riots that a rural area has been affected by inter-community violence.

State Government had organised relief camps in Muzaffarnagar and Shamli districts for riot victims of 9,000 families, with over 50,000 members. According to district magistrates of Muzaffarnagar and Shamli, 3,500 families comprising over 23,000 members in Muzaffarnagar and 3,000 families consisting of over 15,000 persons stayed in camps in Shamli. In Muzaffarnagar there were three relief camps where about 1,000 persons of one community have taken shelter while about 3,200 families of another community were staying in another 2 camps. In Shamli they were running 14 relief camps where foodgrains, milk, and water was provided to the families.

SITE JUSTIFICATION The disconnect between the rural and urban areas and the insensitive approach of the administrative mechanism has increased the possibility of small clashes turning into a full fledged communal carnage. With no or limited resource and manpower to quell it, proves to be challenge for the maintenance of law and order and peace keeping efforts. For the common man it is a huge burden recovering from the aftermath of such incidents and the stigma of disruption of social life. The Refugee colony in Palra is one such neglected habitat which is struggling to restore the natural order and habitat that was once present and to normalise the livelihood of the victims.How such a community after facing one of the worst communal carnage tries to overcome is the reason behind choosing this topic.This makes up for an uncommon yet broodingly interesting case to be studied in depth. LOSING THE TAG OF A RIOT HIT COLONY The preamble of the Indian constitution safeguards our right of individuality, of safety and of expression. It states: “WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens: JUSTICE, social, economic and political; LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship; EQUALITY of status and of opportunity; And to promote among them all FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation.” 2

However the plight of the survivors of Muzaffarnagar (UP) riots are stranded between the apathy and ostracism of the society and they speak a very different story. The present is of suffering, longing and depravity where hopes for a better future is non-existent. Making the situation worse is the silent suffering and the life of anonymity they are forced to lead in absence of any media coverage and efforts of outreach. The common public needs to be informed and sensitized to their existence and calls for help.A grave humanitarian crises has unfolded in Palda(Refugee village in Muzaffarnagar) and as an architect we need to seek architectural solutions to humanitarian crises and bring professional design services to communities in need. We cannot all be there by ourselves but we can make a difference. We can and will change lives. To take their pleas and to convert it into a public movement of kindness and sharing.

2 http://indiacode.nic.in/coiweb/coifiles/preamble.htm

1. GEOGRAPHY OF INDIA RENDERED WITH COMMUNAL RIOTS. 2. HUMANITY IS DYING

All living beings on mother earth are entitled to live a secure life with familiar surrounding around them. But they were left with nothing of this when the misfortune struck. The children of the misery, never in the worst nightmare could have ever thought that this would be the last day they had meal with their family, last day to sleep in the safety of their parent’s embrace, the last day to call a house home. Had they known they would only wish tomorrow never to come. Their needs could be endless but they could be helped with basic necessities to begin with. As Maslow (1943) stated that ‘people are motivated to achieve certain needs. One must satisfy lower level basic needs before progressing on to meet higher level growth needs. Once these needs have been reasonably satisfied, one may be able to reach the highest level called self-actualization’.3 Unfortunately, progress is often disrupted by failure to meet lower level needs. Muzaffarnagar riots in September 2013 has prompted several villages to fight the situation of a civil unrest where provision for the restorative relief, rehabilitation and compensation to all persons affected by communal violence was very difficult due to the disconnect it faces with the state administration. It is absolutely clear that even the best efforts of the army cannot prevent killings once rural areas get affected by the communal virus. It resulted in at least 62 deaths including 42 Muslims and 20 Hindus and injured 93 and left more than 50,000 displaced. However the government has passed various bills to punish the culprits of any communal carnage but unfortunately it has failed miserably to protect victims from the aftermath of riots because it is yet to frame the rules needed to channelize the rehabilitation process.These Rehabilitation policies loopholes can be fixed to an extent with various architectural interventions and suggestive strategies can help towards bridging

3 http://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html the gap between policy and practice of state administration.

3.TIMELINE OF MUZAFFARNAGAR RIOTS_AN UNTOLD STORY I believe through architecture we can attempt to amend the relationship of the riot hit community with the rest of the world by remedying their situation through various social interventions, provide infrastructure to generate self-employment and fulfill requirements of recreation, education and healthcare. The vision is to empower the riot hit community as here the people are most vulnerable and later structure the revival of their settlement that fulfill their needs, reach their full potential (identifying unrealised capabilities) and live with dignity and free of stigma. To provide opportunities to create a healthy neighborhood and eventually weave a fabric of community through multiple levels of participation thus creating avenues to mainstream social inclusion. Through applying principles of urban planning we can enhance the imageability of the community showing that the families are empowered, educated ,employed and strong advocates of their rights-(Kevin Lynch)4.The current situation is fraught with possibilities , dilemmas , varying opinions, impossible altruistic goals , negligible economic leeway and vast social connotations. Therefore a scheme has to be created that resonates with the people of refugee colony ,allowing them to grow as dignified employed individuals, providing them with a habitat where they can live and work. We need to design an interface through which they can interact with the world at large. The architecture therefore has to grow out of the needs and aspirations of people of this village and yet it has to be economically viable and replicable on a rural scale. This will create a better standard of life without infringing on the just income to be made by the refugees. A pilot programme needs to be formulated for this road to recovery. Various steps can create a ripple effect in the riot stuck ghetto such as providing architectural solutions so that the needs of these internally displaced persons are met in terms of safety ,community/belonging ,esteem and self-actualization(rehabilitation housing for the victims that will add a specific value to people's assets allowing for leverage of wealth as credit collateral, nursing homes ,dispensary , secondary level education as students are not issued transfer certificates from their old school and they are not given admission in any of the government school, public spaces for local interaction that will result in social equity thus bridging the dichotomy and creating empowerment for social outcast to fight the mold of social stigma. Also creating ownership among the community, long term focus and developing relationships by generating income through home based enterprises is important. This will surely have a multiplier effect on the society. For instance coming with a local community intervale farm, local set up of cottage industries ,skill development center ,vocational training centre will give the victims their social identity back and provide them with opportunities for self-employment and wage employment ,financial assistance and social employment.

4 Kevin Lynch – The Image of the City | The Mobile City

This can be done by gauging the community’s partnership potential. Through this we will be able to create the patches of remembrance by reconstructing from memory and preserving the cultural identity. The idea to inject new people into the colony allowing it to shed its image and work towards a cohesive neighborhood as community life is the key component of post trauma recovery and it can provides psychological healing to these emotionally, psychologically, monetarily damaged people who are living in a ghetto. A conscious effort has to be made in evolving social networking to ease their exposure ensuring that it is linked and interacts with the major nearby towns and suburbs. All this will build a belief that the world is a safe place, develop a sense of security and safety in the traumatized ones. Also the street design of such areas has a major influence in transforming a ghetto into a good neighbourhood.Identify the street activities and give a scope to retain them in the new design. As rightly said by Jane Jacobs ‘there must be eyes upon the street, eyes belonging to those we might call the natural proprietors of the street’5, we need to keep the very idea of street watching alive and realize that people do like basics - and as environments go, a street that is open to the sky and filled with people and life is a splendid place to be.

4. IDENTIFYING INTERNAL STREET CHARACTER The neighborhood has to be designed in a way that it keeps the essence of a village alive. Small private intimate spaces between the dwelling units will build a community spirit as these victims are ambiverts. Their new enclosure should depict an all living a happy and natural life.I see happy faces greeting each other every day and a society working towards a cohesive neighborhood.

5 The Urban Wisdom of Jane Jacobs - Page 198

5.ULTIMATE PRIVATE SPHERES-MARKED BY 6. LOCUS OF ALL COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES -THE HIGH INTIMACY AND ENCLOSURE TO RECREATIONAL AREAS ENHANCE FAMILY LIVING

REFERENCES: LINKS: i.http://indiacode.nic.in/coiweb/coifiles/preamble.htm -PREAMBLE OF INDIA ii. http://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html -MASLOW'S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS BOOKS: iii. Kevin Lynch - The Image of the City iv. Jane Jacobs -The Urban Wisdom of Jane Jacobs - Page 198 IMAGE COURTESY: Source of graphics used:Author

About the Author: I am a graduate in Architecture from F/O Architecture &Ekistics ,Jamia Millia Islamia.Currently pursuing M.Ekistics from Jamia.I work as an Assistant Field Investigator at the Slum Rehab Dept of DUSIB-Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board.(Govt. of NCT of Delhi).

Keywords: Rehabilitation,stigmatised community, neighbourhood, habitat

Guide & Co-guide (optional): – Prof. Faraz Farooq

College/Agency (optional): – F/o Architecture And Ekistics,Jamia Millia Islamia,New Delhi

Undergraduate/ Post graduate/ Research work/ Training project/ other (please specify) – Undergraduate (B.Arch)